Featherstone Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Feeatherstonhaughe; Fetherstonehaugh; Fetherstonhawgh; Fetherstonhaughe

In the civil parish of Featherstone.
In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

Featherstone Castle is a large and complex country house. It is four-sided with a central courtyard and a tower at each corner. The tallest tower is C14 and is the main piece of medieval work in the building. The origins of the castle lie in the medieval period when the manor of Featherstone belonged to the Featherstonehaugh family. The oldest part of the building may be a C13 hall house, which now lies within the west range, or Gun Room. This early work is difficult to interpret and some of it may not be in its original position. In C14 the tower was added to the building and it is typical of many towers in south Northumberland. Little changed at the castle from this time until C17, when it was remodelled. Mentioned in 1541 as “At Feeatherstonhaughe ys a toure of thinherytaunce of Alexander Featherstonhaughe of the same in good rep'ac'ons.”

This site has been described as a;
Tower House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY67386096

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 14100

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N6124

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N6124
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=111
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p381-2
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p54
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p93-4
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p185
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p64-6 [plan]
    Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p278-9
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p11, 48
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p333
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p231
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p159-64
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p104
    Pevsner, N., 1957, The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London) p152
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p103-5
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Tomlinson, W.W., 1897, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p175-7
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p48
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p388
    Hodgson, J.C., 1840, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) pt2 Vol3 p356-7
    Mackenzie, E., 1825. History of Northumberland Vol2 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p316
    Hodgson, J. and Laird, F., 1813, Beauties of England and Wales; Northumberland Vol12 p114-5
• Journal Articles
  • Cornforth, J., 1973 Dec 13, Country Life p2024
    Cornforth, J., 1973 Oct, Country Life p1246-9
    1930, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol30 p206-8
    Gibson, J., 1926. 'Featherstone Castle, Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol2 p125-31
    Hodgson, J.C., 1916, 'List of Ruined Towers, Chapels, etc., in Northumberland; compiled about 1715 by John Warburton, Somerset Herald, aided by John Horsley' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser3] Vol13 p8
    1888, The Monthly Chronicle; North Country Lore and Legend p401-2
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1541 Survey of the East and Middle Marches [Click here]
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Ryder, P.F., 1995. Towers and Bastles in Northumberland, Part 4 Tynedale District Vol1 p66-71